A Mask To Call Home II
by Tohno-san
Summary: The sequel. Juggernaut is haunted by strange visions - but like all things need nourishment to grow, Lyralei's love heals his soul. Jugg x Lyra.


The hall stretched on to infinity, he thought. As expected of the halls of any church of Elze - the night made the oppressive temples seem even more uninviting than usual. Yet his quarry had been eluding him - while remaining in the building. It seemed as though it was attemping to get to higher ground - or lead him into a trap. As his blade reflected the sliver of moonlight that pierced through the multi-coloured stained glass windows, a shadow flew across the room. Leaping out, he dragged his sword along the pillar, the friction of steel against stone sending sparks of heat onto the torch beneath it flooding the room with light. For Yurnero the Juggernaut had been making note of every room in the dark church as he roamed it, and now that the shadow had given itself away, its time had drawn nigh.

The shadow attempted to flee - yet the Juggernaut sprung himself off the alter, spinning through the air as he sliced into the humanoid's back. As it fell to its knees, he rolled it over, lifting his blade to give the final blow if needed -

And then, he saw the mask. Round - circular - a child's mask. That which was given to a youngling at the age of six, when he became truly 'faceless' - in service only to his lord, an extension of his will. Were it any other mask, he would ask this victim of his where they looted such a mask - what caravan, ruin or man they had taken it from...

But the mask - it carried upon it the two semi circular red shapes, as if drawn in blood, with a circle on either side of it. His father's emblem, the proud Retainer's emblem that only the elite of a lord could hope to earn. The mark which his firstborn would bear. The mark that theJuggernaut first had upon his mask as a youngling...

The figure turned its head to the side suddenly, full of vigour. The mask's grim, faceless visage, grew a dark, crimson grin across it as though it were alive itself. Its hand reached out, ripping off the Juggernaut's infamous mask, causing him to give a pained, bestial cry as he felt as though his face had been ripped off.

Its newborn lips began to speak, murmuring-

"What have you done with your face, Yurnero?"

Yurnero woke up from his dream, a cold sweat trickling down his body, his hand on the sword under his pillow. A hand pressed onto him - cold and slender. In spite of his usual battle-ready demeanour, he gasped. "Yurnero, go to sleep, my love." He sighed, feeling Lyralei's warmth beside him. She pressed herself against him, his lips seeking out his, kissing gently. He returned it with a quiet, peaceful happiness.

Lyralei intensified her kiss, gripping onto his shoulder. Yurnero felt a little surprised by her forcefulness. She straddled him on the bed, her tongue slipping into his mouth with surprising strength, her kiss becoming lusty, hungry, - and eeriely so, as her hands squeezed onto his shoulders. She bit down on his lip with a nibble, causing him to jolt - the bite was harsh, cruel, and he felt the blood on his lips. She eagerly licked it up with the saliva that she swapped into his mouth, and he tried to struggle against her grasp; yet to no avail, as her hands clawed into his body, and as she pulled back, the same crimson grin etched on her face, she laughed -

"What have you done with your mask, Yurnero?"

Yurnero awoke with a yell, his sword slicing into tree beside him. Shagbark yelped as the blade passed a few centimetres above his head, and ran behind the leg of the druidic creature they called Nature's Prophet. "It is ill-mannered to harm the wilds that aid you, Juggernaut." He said, a slight chuckle. "Did something haunt your dreams this passed night?"

Yurnero sighed, getting up from where he had slept beneath the tree. "Apologies, Nature's Prophet. It is nothing. I had but... Uneasy visions," he murmured, pulling his sword from the tree and resting it on his shoulder. "Stay safe. The Dire should not attack for a while yet," nodded the Prophet, respecting the swordsman's silence. With a grateful, expressionless glance, Yurnero walked away, down the pathway that spiraled through the forest.

To have shown his face to his lover - for some reason, it did haunt him. All he could think of was the mask: it haunted his dreams; most of the time the dream was seeing he had nothing beneath the mask - now his dreams told him the mask _is _his face.

He did not understand. He did not regret sharing his most intimate secrets with the lovely Windranger. On the contrary, Yurnero felt - deep inside of him - that she completed him. He had been told many times that the respect of a swordsman and his loyalty to his lord should be like an unrequited love - pure and yet by nature harsh, that the swordsman may forever clamour for his lord's favour.

Yet this - this was fulfilling. It nourished him. It brought him an earnest smile beneath his mask. A gladness that, even in the heat of battle, he had let his heart meld with another's trust and affection - he felt more at peace than he ever had since he was a mere boy...

Was that it? Was it that he felt guilty...?

He hadn't betrayed his people...

And yet, he was the only one left. A dishonoured warrior - even at the treachery of a cruel lord, a dishonoured survivor.

Yurnero shook his head. Survival guilt. A hurtful and foolish thought that would only destroy him if he let it feed.

"Hey! Yurnero!"

Yurnero turned around at the voice. Windranger was at the side of the road, leaning against the tree, a spark of playfulness in her eyes. "Where are you going, big fella?" She asked with a wink. Yurnero turned around. "Lyralei."

"I love the warm greetings you give me," she murmured sarcastically, walking over with a little pout that broke into a warm smile, her red hair shining in the bright day's sunlight. "What are you up to, Juggernaut? You're quiet - even for you." She touched a hand onto his shoulder. Yurnero resisted the urge to shudder as his dream returned to him - he gently put his hand on hers and squeezed it affectionately.

"It's fine. Thank you." He strode off slowly. Lyralei stared at his back as he walked away, a concerned and sympathetic look on her face. _What happened to him?_ She wondered. Looking about, she quickly ran into the forest.

Slark shrugged as he accepted the gold coins, as the sunset's pinkish sky flooded the seashore with its glory. He knew recovering the worthless item mattered to the Juggernaut, so he didn't mind extorting a few extra coins from the Radiant warrior. But with little reason to fight, he simply scampered off on his merry way, diving into the water for his precious Dark Reef, leaving the Juggernaut with the strange mask from the ruins under the sea.

Yurnero sat there on the beach, his sword impaled in the sand beside him. He held it in his hands. It seemed strange, unreal to him, that it would remain in his father's fiefdom, in the chest his mother sealed - and end up again in his hands, just like that. It had been where it had always been. And now it was before him.

The mask itself had no wicked, sanguine grin. Its alabaster tone had only be weathered with age and soaked with water - the red patterns had faded to a colour like dried blood on a rock. It was hollow inside.

"Change of fashion?" Asked the familiar voice, as the Windranger sat down on her knees beside the Juggernaut. Yurnero shook his head. "I was haunted by visions. I saw this mask, and my enemy was beneath it. And beneath my mask... was nothing." He shook his head. "The mask was my face." He stared at, then at the horizon, as the golden sun fell behind the mountains.

Lyralei moved in front of him - the sunlight framing her glorious red hair - and took the mask out of his hand, and turned it around so that the inside faced his eyes. "See? Empty." She reached out, and took his mask off. Yurnero found himself wincing, but the mask came off without pain, as always. A look of sympathy and compassion came across Lyralei's face.

"See? Beneath your mask, is you." She leaned forward, and kissed him lovingly on the lips. "My Yurnero, my love." Her simple, caring smile brought a joy to Yurnero's heart. Lyralei threw her arms around him and tackled him to the ground, hugging him tightly. Yurnero placed his arms around her, and they shared a small laugh as they embraced. Lyralei kissed him again, her lips brushing against his, their kissing not shy, but something that was natural, as exciting as the first moment their bodies touched.

A spirit of happiness returned to Yurnero, as he rolled over, kissing Lyralei, the two of them laughing foolishly as their bodies entwined, as though young lovers frolicking without a care in the world. Yurnero let his kisses drift down the beautiful ranger's neck, causing her make a happy sighs as she felt her cool skin shiver at the touch of his warm lips. Taking his left hand, she pulled it toward her breast, smiling at him coyly. He let his fingers slide under her raiment, his warm hand touching her small, cute breasts. His fingers teased her nipples, causing her to make little mewling sounds as he gently squeezed them and her breasts, as she let her own hand drift down his crotch, her fingers stroking the outline of his hardness through the fabric of his linen garments.

Lyralei loved how Yurnero manipulated her body, how his touch could be yet so strong and yet so soft - he knew just how to make her feel good, and that made her feel so very, very aroused. How she wished she could have the cock she was touching inside of her... If Yurnero wanted to, he could take her right then - but his tongue flicked against her breasts, eliciting little moans from her mouth, as his fingers slipped into her pants, teasing her pussy with their deft touch, without granting her the full satisfaction of their action. "Yurnero... Mm, you're such a tease..." she murmured, a little bit of frustration through the pleasure in her voice. Yurnero smiled. "The same for you, Lyralei."

Lyralei let her hand squeeze Yurnero's cock firmly through his pants, causing him to give a pleased grunt. "Hey, if you want some of this, why don't you just... Fuck me?" She asked with a wink. Yurnero retaliated with a slow, achingly pleasurable stroke across her pussy lips, Lyralei letting out a cute little mewl in spite of herself. "C-c'mon, that's unfair... You know how bad you want it..." she murmured, her body surrendering to the Juggernaut's touch.

Yurnero let himself tantalize her even more, enjoying seeing her writhe beneath his touch, continuing without a word. Lyralei shuddered and groaned again, before crying out "That's it!" and with a great push, knocked the surprised Yurnero onto his back, before straddling him. Unbuckling his belt and pulling down his leggings a little clumsily, she brought his erection out into the air, and giggled as it sprung out, and laughed even more at Yurnero's surprised expression. "What, Yurnero? I know what I want." Standing up, she kicked off her boots, and slid off her pants, eagerly tossing aside her raiments before she stood naked before him, the only thing adorning her body being her lovely red hair, that blew in the cool evening breeze.

She leapt back upon him, kissing down his chest and planting a little kiss on the tip of his cock before leaning back, and squeezing her own breast, let her right hand drift down to her pussy, stroking herself hornily. "Oh Yurnero, mm, I want you inside me sooo bad~" she cooed, enjoying seeing his cock bulge as she made the show, his eyes showing his yearning. She smirked - she had him exactly as she wanted him. "Mm, I can't wait to have your big hard cock in my wet pussy~" she added, her voice a little husky, as she straddled him, slowly grinding herself against his hardness. He groaned, enjoying her revenge. Finally, when she herself couldn't take the foreplay anymore, she gripped his bulging erection in her cool slender hands, and leaning over him, sharing a sensual kiss, slid it inside of her. With a gasp and a moan, she began to ride him, Yurnero himself thrusting his hips up as she bounced up and down, the sound of his balls slapping against her ass sounding as loudly as their pleasured groans, as his cock thrust in and out of her pussy.

"Ahhh, it feels so good inside of me~" She called out, as Yurnero placed both of his hands on her ass, their rhythm increasing as Lyralei rode him faster and faster, as Yurnero groaned out her name, the pleasure coursing through his body. Lyralei leaned in and began kissing his face mindlessly, her hands roaming his muscular, strong torso as she felt his cock fill her up, her breath becoming erratic. Yurnero gave a growl as he felt her pussy tighten around him, the Windranger letting out a pleasurable scream and a moan as she came.

A thought sparked into Yurnero's mind, and as Lyralei couldn't help but slow her pace as her body began to enter the bliss of the orgasm, he noticed the guilt in her eyes, as she tried to ride him again. But no, he had another idea.

She gasped as he lifted her up, and pulled her onto the ground, on her hands and knees. Her gasp turned into one of delight as she spread her legs apart for him - positing himself behind her, Yurnero thrust his bulging cock into Lyralei, his desire controlling him as he fucked her with such speed her moans shook from each thrust, before she let out another cry as her body tightened around his dick, the sensation too much for him as his hot, sticky seed pumped out into the woman, her eyes filled with ecstacy as she came again, his cum dripping down her pussy and onto the sand of the beach as he pulled out his cock, and turning her over, shot a load of his seed onto her tummy, where it spilled onto her cute breasts, and a second shot of the hot sticky cum that landed on her nose and mouth, where she licked her lips lasciviously.

"Mm... Yurnero's cum~ I love it," she sighed, her body shaking from the strength of her orgasm. Yurnero laid down beside her, the two staring up at the sky, their naked and near-naked bodies embraced by the cold wind.

Lyralei took Yurnero's hand and squeezed it. She leaned over and kissed him gently. "Beneath that mask is the man I love," she smiled, "And what a man he is," she added with a playful wink and provocative glance up and down his body. Yurnero found himself chuckling pleasantly at her banter, a laughter in which Lyralei joined in happily.

As they grew tired, their eyes closed, and with Lyralei's nestled in his muscular arms, she fell asleep. Yurnero heard the tide as it began to lessen - and saw the old white mask of his youth, carried away on the waters.

Yurnero of the Isle of Masks smiled. And leaving his old mask off, he kissed his lover on the cheek, and let his contented heart rest as dreams took them both to another world.

**This was the last of the three stories I did together as a birthday present ^^ It was pretty exciting to write and had some new things I haven't tried before but I hope it is the best it can be!**

I'm planning to write a lot more, and I hope all of you can look forward to my stories! I'm always glad that some of you have gotten back to me with feedback and would welcome all your reviews and messages if you have something to comment on or recommend! Thank you all for your support so far!


End file.
